Rationale: ”On June 25, 2009, Michael Jacksoncollapsed at his rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles. Pending confirmation from toxicology reports, he was allegedly administered Demerol shortly before he stopped breathing. Attempts at resuscitating him by his personal physician were unsuccessful. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 p.m. (PDT), and arrived three minutes and seventeen seconds later at Jackson’s location. He was reportedly not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued both en route to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for an hour further after arriving at approximately 1:13 p.m. (20:13 UTC).He was noted already to have been in cardiac arrest by the paramedics who attended his house. Jackson was pronounced dead at approximately 2:25 p.m. local time (21:25 UTC) (Michael Jackson via Wikipedia, 2009).

Regardless of Michael Jackson’s tainted past, the man was an enigmatic legend. He single-handedly moulded and commercialised the genre of music we know as ‘pop’. It is also through his influence that the music video is what it is today and one of the primary reasons why we have MTV and VH1. From the young to the old, every person knew of Michael Jackson and has, at least once, at one point in their life, jived to one of his carefully mastered and best selling beats. I know that I have, on many occasions, bobbed my head, shaken my ass, grabbed my crotch, uttered a primal “ouwoo” and raised a faux white-gloved-hand to the heavens. Consequently, his death is not only a blow to the aging music industry, but also a major loss to millions of adoring fans worldwide, not to mention his “children”, family and friends. As a result, it is with a heavy heart that I bid farewell to one of, if not the, greatest musician of our times. Rest in peace MJ!

For my salute to Michael Jackson, I chose the Earth Song. This is one of my all time favourite Michael Jackson songs and has unmistakably influenced the person: I am, continue to be and will undoubtedly become.

1 Comment

About me

Hi, I'm Hans. A Ludologist by education; writer, marketer and ecommerce curator by trade; foodie by nature; and a tech, gadget and gamer geek in my spare time. This blog is where I share my personal thoughts on almost everything and anything.